$30 Billion to revive tourism.. surprise to World Cup fans in Egypt

One of the most popular places for tourists is the famous Pyramids of Giza, as it witnessed a great turnout of Egyptian and foreign visitors during the winter school holidays this year, as it attracted more than 200,000 spectators.

The workers near the tourist places are the ones who benefit the most from the tourist turnout in Egypt, as Nadia Ismail, a street vendor near the pyramids, says, "She has been working on the site for several years to sell souvenirs to tourists. She told the website that she used to sell to more tourists before the sharp decline in tourism," Tourism after the January revolution" 2011.

On a related note, Hosni Al-Sayyed, the owner of a horse-drawn carriage known as "Hantour", says that the turnout of visitors may be due to the stability of the security situation.

173,000 visitors

  According to Ashraf Mohy, the antiquities official in the region, about 173,000 visitors went to see the wonders of Egypt between January 19 and 31, including 14,513 foreigners.

With breaks from the warm sunshine, the official added, an additional 30,000 visitors went to the site before the school holidays ended on February 2.

Egypt's tourism sector is a major source of hard currency, but it has been damaged since the 2011 uprising and the fatal Russian plane crash near Sinai in November 2015.

 $30 Billion per year

With the tourism movement around the world restoring much of its activity, the Egyptian government began to develop a plan to revive tourism and raise revenues from this sector to thirty billion dollars per year, after it recorded last year 9 billion dollars.

50% discounts

Dr. Suha Bahgat, spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, spoke about the interaction with the holding of the World Cup in Qatar, noting that the ministry, through the Supreme Council, offered 50% discounts to all visitors who hold the “Haya card” on tourist and archaeological sites.

 She add "We also granted the visa for free, meaning that the Egypt visa will be free for Haya card holders, as well as providing hotel rooms at discounted prices for World Cup fans and coordinating with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to transport fans who wish to visit Egypt during the World Cup."

And she continued, "We have coordinated with the Ministry of Civil Aviation in order to transport fans who want to spend some time in Egypt between matches, and we hope to see the results in the coming days."